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School of Education
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Research Clusters

We are committed to maintaining breadth and excellence across our areas of expertise; and have structured the organisation of our research expertise so that academic staff and Post Graduate Research (PGR) students are aligned to one or more of five thematic Research Clusters.

These clusters serve as umbrellas under which various, more specific research topics, are addressed. Each has a sufficient number of affiliated members of staff to allow fruitful collaboration within and between clusters. Although staff and students may be affiliated with more than one cluster, the cluster structure influences our recruitment strategy, guides our selection of PGR students and supports the design, organisation and delivery of teaching, ensuring our research and teaching activity is strongly aligned.

Cluster membership also extends beyond the School of Education, both reaching out across the university and across the extensive international networks of the School of Education. As a result, the cluster approach has strengthened the School’s ability to collaborate widely and in an interdisciplinary way. Our commitment to inclusive and boundary pushing research means our clusters support a variety of research types (from pure applied research to more basic/‘blue-skies’ research). Clusters also cover a wide spectrum of educational research areas and phases, reflecting the diversity of the nature of educational research in general, but also the breadth of research expertise represented within the school.